MARTIN KELLY insists he is happy to wait for his Liverpool FC first-team chance and says Glen Johnson is the ideal man to learn from at Anfield.

The 21-year-old has found himself used sparingly in recent weeks for Liverpool FC, with England international Johnson re-establishing himself as the Reds’ first-choice right-back following his return from injury.

But manager Kenny Dalglish insisted earlier this week his young stars will get their chance to shine, and Kelly says he is content in his current role as understudy, learning from his more experienced colleague.

“At this moment in time, I am the understudy to Glen,” said England U21 star Kelly. “But I am still young and to watch a player like that is only good for me.

“Whenever called upon, I've played well in that position as well as across the back four.

“It's good for Glen to be playing and pushing on in the England side, and it's brilliant for me to be watching him in training and learning from him.”

Johnson, who scored Liverpool FC's winning goal as Dalglish’s side defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend, is expected to retain his starting place as the Reds welcome Premier League leaders Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday.

And Kelly insists Liverpool will head into that fixture brimming with confidence.

“There is a buzz about the place,” he revealed. “We beat Chelsea home and away last year, and we've beaten them this year.

“It's better going into the game on Sunday with that win and we'll definitely try and do our best, and do it for all the supporters and ourselves.

“If you look at our team and the strengths we've got, we're definitely a top-four team. It's about gelling and getting the results at home against the so-called lower teams. Every game now in the Premier League is difficult and we can only look at one game at a time.

“We were delighted with the win at Chelsea - we'll take that into our training this week and try and get the win at home to City.”

He added: “We're always looking to get better from our performances and if you ask all the lads, the boss and the coaching staff, we want to improve on everything. Liverpool won't settle for second best.

“We work a lot in training on our team shape and gelling together, and you could tell at Chelsea we did it as a team and we won as a team.”